Argo ended up the big winner Sunday night at the Oscars, taking home best picture honours over Silver Linings Playbook, Lincoln, and Life of Pi, which looked early on like it could be on a Titanic-esque roll.

“On behalf of George [Clooney] and myself, I want to thank you,” Argo producer Grant Heslov said to Ben Affleck, handing the podium the films’s director, who, along with Clooney, was also a producer on the picture. In his turn, Affleck began speed-thanking his way through a list, which included the not oft-spoken line at Oscars time: “I want to thank Canada.”

The Las Vegas and critical favourite to take home best picture honours Sunday, Argo‘s win also vindicated its “snubbed” director Ben Affleck, and the film also won for film editing, plus best adapted screenplay, with the Oscar going to Chris Terrio for his tale of an Iran hostage crisis with a Canadian twist.

Jennifer Lawrence, as expected, took home the best actress Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook, clamming up a bit during an acceptance speech that truly seemed to show how bowled over the 22-year-old star of the Hunger Games really seems to be why the whole thing.

Quentin Tarantino took home writing Oscar honours for Django Unchained, winning for best original screenplay, an award he took home once before, for Pulp Fiction in 1994.

Anne Hathaway, who made a kerfuffle or two on the red carpet with her dress, went on to do what many thought she would Sunday night when she won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as Fantine in Les Misérables. Hathaway exchanged an embrace with fellow nominee Amy Adams after picking up the award.

Director Ang Lee came from behind to take best director Oscar honours when everyone seemed pretty damn sure the award was going to go to Michael Haneke for Amour. In his speech, Lee thanked Yann Martel, the Canadian novelist who wrote the book that formed the basis for the film’s screenplay.

Steven Spielberg’s political-historical drama Lincoln, charting the last year in the life of the U.S. president, won the Oscar for production design. Lee’s Life of Pi, which trailed only Lincoln in total nominations, won four Oscars, including the prizes for best visual effects, best cinematography and original score.

Argo, the Las Vegas and critical favourite to take home best picture honours Sunday, thus vindicating its “snubbed” director Ben Affleck, won for film editing, and also for best adapted screenplay, with the Oscar going to Chris Terrio.

Toronto’s Mychael Danna, already feted a few times this awards season, including at the Golden Globes, for the music he wrote for Life of Pi, went home with the Oscar for best original score, his first Oscar win.

Adele, and her co-songwriter Paul Epworth, topped Danna and host Seth MacFarlane with their Skyfall theme to take home the honours for best original song.

Hello all. While we wait for the red carpet to begin in proper, enjoy these rejected headlines (if Argo wins best picture): A Shah Thing; Blame Canada; CI, eh?; All About the Benjamin; Tehran in Real Life; and Argo F— Yourself, Ken Taylor.

Academy Award nominee and multiple Grammy winner Adele will be performing her nominated song Skyfall, from the film of the same name, at tonight’s Oscars ceremony. It marks the singer and new mother’s first time onstage in more than a year — since before the birth of her son. Listen to the song below:

Academy Award nominee and multiple Grammy winner Adele will be performing her nominated song Skyfall, from the film of the same name, at tonight’s Oscars ceremony. It marks the singer and new mother’s first time onstage in more than a year — since before the birth of her son. Listen to the song below:

Fun facts: Wolfgang Puck has prepared a ten-course vegan menu for tonight, to fit those finicky Hollywood denizens’ restrictive diets (how else would they fit into those dresses?). Oh, and every winner gets a bottle of Dom Perignon — the celebrity chef has more than 100 on hand.

Witching hour right before Inbox gets clogged with fashion house PRs detailing everything. They’re all waiting to press send until the very moment Jessica/Anne/Jennifer et al. actually step out the door.

The Oscars this year will not end with someone announcing exasperatingly saying “Good NIGHT.” Oh no. This year everyone should be prepared to be roused from their Sunday night canapé comas by a MUSICAL NUMBER starring Kristin Chenoweth. JOY!

Christoph Waltz and wife Judith Holste arrive Sunday. Waltz is up for best supporting actor tonight. A few weeks ago, Waltz took home best-supporting award at the BAFTAs over — which was a bit of a surprise win. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Well, no matter what happens tonight with Argo at the Oscars, Ben Affleck will always have that weird moment from way back for the Good Will Hunting screenplay with the dude from the Bourne Identity movies who apparently didn’t have a chin yet at that point. Just sayin.

Well, no matter what happens tonight with Argo at the Oscars, Ben Affleck will always have that weird moment from way back for the Good Will Hunting screenplay with the dude from the Bourne Identity movies who apparently didn’t have a chin yet at that point. Just sayin.

Jennifer Aniston arrives at the Oscars. Fun fact: Despite turns in classics such as Horrible Bosses, The Switch and Along Came Polly, the Academy has yet to recognize Aniston’s work. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Because it bears repeating how lovely these two look tonight on the Oscars red carpet, but also because it’s nice to see an A-list actress’s real smile — the kind you see when she gets to the end of the press juggernaut outside the Academy Awards and she can go sit down and not worry about smiling non-stop. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

Olivia Munn’s dress, a red duchess satin with gold leaf embroidery that is a total nod to the Tudors if ever there was, is by Marchesa. There’s usually much more Marchesa than this on the red carpet though.

Red carpet interviewers are really the ones we should have building better economic models to predict stock market shocks. Never have I heard so many people talk so many times about MAKING history while also LIVING it. IT’S LIKE THEY KNOW THE FUTURE, AND THE FUTURE WILL BE SMALL GOLDEN STATUETTES AND EGO BOOSTS/DRAINS.

I interviewed director, Behn Zeitlin last year and I love the story of how he found the stars of his film, Beasts of the Southern Wild. Of the 4,000 girls he considered for the part of six-year-old Hushpuppy, he chose Quvenzhane Wallis for her poise. Then he cast the baker from across the street from where they held auditions as her father.The interview with Behn Zeitlin in the National Post.

There is absolutely no energy in the whatever-it’s-called auditorium. So speaking of old-timey, maybe it’s time the Oscars were no longer televised? Just red carpet, and then a Masonic secret ceremony.

Fun fact: Roger Deakins, director of photography for Skyfall, has now been snubbed 10 times in the Best Cinematography category.

His first nomination came with The Shawshank Redemption in 1994, then Fargo in 1996. In 2007 he made it in twice for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men.

This will be the freeze-frame that closes the Rocky-style making of for the Life of Pi: VFX supervisor Bill Westenhofer accepts the Best Visual Effects award Sunday in L.A. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

I knew MacFarlane at the helm meant this was going to be a weird song-and-dancey night, but I had no idea it would go so far as this: Catherine Zeta-Jones onstage performing All That Jazz from best-picture winner Chicago.

The blush pink dress is as slight as a satin ribbon, with unfortunate bust seaming, and it will be wrinkled in 5 minutes. Overall sanctimonious, somehow – maybe it’s the echoes of Gwyneth’s win. She could call her tone-deaf blog HOOP.

• Argo: Written by Chris Terrio
• Beasts of the Southern Wild: Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
• Life of Pi: Written by David Magee
• Lincoln: Written by Tony Kushner
• Silver Linings Playbook: Written by David O. Russell